FIDE Respond To Magnus Carlsen

FIDE have issued a press release to explain their decision to award the world chess championship match between Vishy Anand and Magnus Carlsen to Chennai, India without a bidding process.

The challenger Magnus Carlsen had complained in a strongly worded statement about FIDE's decision, since it appeared that there may have been other possible venues if a bidding process had been undertaken.

Since the Candidates’ Tournament ended, and GM M. Carlsen became the challenger of the coming World Championship Match there have been several developments, mails exchange between all parties (Carlsen, Anand, FIDE), questions asked, and also speculations.

FIDE would hereby like to put forward the current situation regarding this event.

Directly after the 2012 match was awarded to Moscow, FIDE agreed to grant an option to Chennai. The PB and its meeting in Armenia in January decided that FIDE and AGON, who holds the rights for organizing the whole cycle of the World Championship, were advised that India would take up its option organize the World Championship match. This was done on January 24 in Athens, where both parties agreed not to open a bidding procedure, but to grant an option to India, as requested. We should emphasize that according FIDE rules the World Championship cycle is not included in the list of events, for which FIDE is obliged to do so (like Olympiads, for instance). This has been deliberately done, because in many cases FIDE, having the priority in mind to secure the match and the cycle, was ready to give an option or even to grant the match if the proposal was attractive enough.

Consequently three of the last matches were given to an organizer without a bidding procedure.

On March 15th India asked to extend the option until April 10th and FIDE agreed to it because it was clear that the bid would be accepted and just needed an approval of the Tamil Nadu State Parliament, a session which took place on April 8th. One could ask why was the extension given to a date when the name of the challenger will be known already, and the simple answer is that FIDE, being convinced that the positive answer was just a matter of technicality, did not want to lose this bid for an alternative that gave no guarantee for a better result or any result at all.

When the approval of the bid by India was published and FIDE representative was called to formalize it, on April 8th, GM Carlsen’s manager contacted FIDE and asked to have a meeting to discuss this matter before a formal move is done with India.

Carlsen and FIDE’s representatives met in FIDE office on April 15th, when all claims were brought up by Carlsen’s representatives and were answered by FIDE. Among the points raised and answered we would like to emphasize one and this is the issue which was also raised in media – the question of neutrality. Unfortunately it has always proved difficult to find a sponsor to such a match when the name of the challenger is not known yet. Therefore most of matches in the past were organized in one of the participant’s countries. Consequently both World Champions Anand and Topalov played in their opponent’s country – a natural result of the situation.

On that day both parties signed a paper whereby it was agreed to give Norway an option to come up with an organizer for half of the match, provided that India would accept such a solution.

FIDE tried its hardest to convince India to split the match, but they refused India wanted to fulfil what has been approved by the government of the Tamil Nadu State and FIDE had to keep its obligations, and consequently an M.O.U was signed in Chennai on April 19th. One day later, the FIDE President visited France, where he got a proposal to organize the match in Paris. Mr Ilyumzhinov promised to bring the proposal before the Presidential Board. The French proposal was higher than the Chennai one, with more contributions offered. However, the Board decided (unanimously with one abstention) that FIDE must respect its obligation and thanked the French federation and the city of Paris for their proposal, hoping that there will be another opportunity to have a big event in Paris.

FIDE has acted with full transparency during the whole process, trying its best to secure the match and standing by its obligations and reputation. FIDE will do everything to secure equal conditions for both players and also will try and still trying to increase the prize fund for the match.

FIDE wishes these two great players a successful match, and is sure that India, the homeland of Chess will bring to the world a fascinating event.

@calvinamari.... after boliviating and mendacious... maybe FIDE is just being paractical (sic)... Only one sponsor was willing to hedge their bet before the candidates match... and that was India... Paris and Russia were waiting hoping that it would be Carlsen and Kramnik respectively... its only fair that they host it.

If FIDE's bloviating explanation were less mendacious, it would begin with "We robbed the players in the championship match of a million dollars and marginalized the most important chess event of a generation because...." Or, speaking more broadly: "We acted against the interest of our top players and against the interests of chess at large because...." Even without such candor, FIDE's explanation makes sense only to those with abbreviated mental faculties who believe that they commune with space aliens. If one assesses the express premises upon which FIDE’s explanation is built, it is like surveying the strata of a Pompeian latrine. Any federation can bid, but FIDE can simply reject it. FIDE's strategy of promising India to get a first option for a three-month period, then extending that period for almost a year and then declining a higher bid still hasn't been explained properly with this weapons-grade BS press release. Yet FIDE asserts that it "has acted with full transparency during the whole process." Not quite! Yet again FIDE vomits up offal, pukes bile, and farts noxious guff in the faces of the chess public, which it trusts will be credulous and accpeting.

etc etc. It isn't exactly: "1.1 Title matches are not open for bidding". Can anyone point to the rule saying title matches are not open for bidding? If the point would be that there should be no bidding it is a bit clumsy that nothing is written about that in the rules for the 2013 match, but a lot more about how the actual bidding for said match is supposed to work.

There are so many strange and illogical things with the FIDE press release that I am amazed that anyone can read it without being embarrassed.

1. The important thing is to secure the match, and "it has always proved difficult to find a sponsor to such a match when the name of the challenger is not known yet"

2. Because of this Chennai was given an option to get the match on the cheap if they bid AFTER the Candidates

3. After the Candidates others were naturally interested (and wanted to pay much more)

4. FIDE had already promised Chennai the match for the same cost as Anand-Gelfand

Since Chennai already had passed several deadlines without making the bid they originally were supposed to have made before August 30th 2012, they made it clear that they wanted the Candidates to finish before making a bid. They wanted to know what they got, at the same time as other interested parties were not allowed the same possibility. So what was gained by doing things like this, with secretly prolonged options? The end result is just that the most marketable title match in a long time was sold on the cheap for no more than Anand vs Gelfand.

Next time I hope FIDE will show some of that "full transparency" they talk about.

If in fact FIDE laws provide that the WCC Cycle is not open to bidding...then they have in fact not broken any of their own laws in offering this Match to India....as much of the debate centered on. Questioning this, and lobbying for changes...are all another matter.

Chess is the game invented by Indian Kings, most Indians don't know who Anand is. Cricket is a game invented by English Kings, all Indians know who Sachin Tendulkar is...

Relax people, most Indians don't even care about chess let alone Anand, a Tamil, who lives in Spain... Tamils are actually Srilankan Hindus (ethnically) so Anand is a Srilankan with and Indian nationality, who lives in Spain and has a Spanish passport, playing a game that most Indians couldn't give a rats a$$ about... Get over it Carlsen and just play.

So to summarize, Fide made a deal with Carlsen and his representatives to play half the match in Norway to even out the championship to be fair to both sides, pretty logical. Fide tells India this, and India says no deal. So to keep their obligation to one deal they break another, to show they have moral integrity.

Absolutely pathetic turn of events, The half india-Norwar and Paris match locations were both much better deals than what is currently being accepted. I can't stand Fide, but this will make it all the more sweet when Carlsen claims the crown.

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